By Jim Duncan
CVFDude@aol.com
Twitter.com/foodude

Tagliatelli can take one's breath away at Café di Scala, 644 18th St., 244-1353. Hours are Thursday through Saturday, 5 to 10 p.m.

The top local food trend in 2011 was expanded hours. Restaurants, grocers, even farmers’ markets added hours and days of operation. On paper, that made sense — you have to work harder to make ends meet in a stagnant economy, right? Certainly if you’re trying to qualify for a bank loan in this era of tight-assed, formulaic diligence. That got me thinking, what if Tony Lemmo took his 2005 business plan for Café di Scala to a banker today. The latter would probably gather his colleagues for a good laugh. “This guy wants to borrow money to buy a 19th century restaurant, without a parking lot, and he’s only going to be open three nights a week.”

Café di Scala makes Des Moines’ best case for keeping things simple. They still only serve dinner — and only three nights a week. They added a brunch service — but just once a month. Their dinner menu includes just three entrees, three pasta, one soup, two salads and eight antipasti. There’s always a special or two. Staff seems energized, and the café always seems to bustle with a cosmopolitan vibe.

Lemmo is a third generation Calabrese Des Moines restaurateur. His mom is a Lacona, as in Noah’s, Mama’s, Bambino’s, etc. Tony’s paternal grandparents owned Lemmo’s. Café di Scala is housed in a magnificent Victorian mansion with a wrap-around porch. Its menu and wine list are all Italian. The latter includes rare brands and up-and-coming varietals like Montepuliciano from Abruzzo, Lagre from Trentino, Negroamaro from Apulia and Gaglioppo from Calabriaalso. Lemmo makes food and wine pilgrimages to Italy to keep it current and he keeps winning top restaurant awards from both Wine Enthusiast and Wine Spectator. Inexpensive wine sips are sold to help guests appreciate regional subtleties.

Chef Phil Shires’ menu remains small but changes seasonally. Pizza now appears on the appetizer menu. Blue mussels do, too, in a white wine and cream sauce with shallots ideal for pairing with wine. Polenta cakes, resting on Pecorino and covered with a traditional Calabrese tomato ragu, resembled the texture of risotto more than of cornbread. Thinly-sliced roasted Brussels sprouts, served in a salad bowl with olive oil and finished with Gran Padano and truffle oil, added to the city’s newfound love of this vegetable.

Café di Scala writes its signature in egg and flour — 100 percent scratch pasta, an art Lemmo learned from his mother. Cavatelli are legendary in Des Moines, the traditional Sunday dinner of Italian Des Moines and of pre World War II Italy. Today it’s hard to find real homemade cavatelli. Many places just call any combination of dried pasta “cavatelli.” On my most recent visit, Shires tossed them with marinara, Pecorino Romano, Graziano's sausage and fresh basil. Carrot tagliatelli can leave me breathless. Often they are served in a cream sauce with La Quercia speck, grilled fennel and crimini. My favorite pasta this winter is his cappellacci, stuffed with roast winter squash and served with Romano, crisply fried sage and brown butter.

Entrees are hearty. An Iowa pork chop was served over sausage stuffing with mushroom wine sauce. Prosciutto wrapped chicken breast was stuffed with cheese and served with risotto. New York steak was served with wine-prosciutto butter and polenta.

Desserts vary but almost always include a family recipe cannoli with ricotta cream and a panna cotta served expertly outside its mold. Last week, the former was served in a cannoli cup and the latter with a reduction of cloves and red wine.

The monthly brunch features Beattles music, a savory and a sweet course, plus an after dinner drink. If they ever become more frequent, I might order something other than the rum-flambéed banana crepes with nutella.

Bottom line — Less is definitely more at this paragon of contemporary Calabrese Des Moines cuisine.

Side Dishes
Rumors have a new wine bar coming to East Village… More than 400 attended Cheese Shop of Des Moines’ recent open house. CV